Dominica issues the third in Scottsdale Mints ambitious EC8 precious metal bullion coin program

Working its way through an eight-coin 2018 program, Scottsdale Mint have now released the third in the range. Following issues for Antigua & Barbuda, and for Saint Kitts & Nevis, this issue is for the island haven of Dominica. The EC8 bullion program will issue for a range of island nations throughout the Caribbean – those that are part of the East Caribbean Central Bank zone.

The coin for Dominica is a unique one (only the obverse is common in this program) and depicts a woman in native attire looking across the water at a seaplane flying past, perhaps coming in to land. Just the island name is inscribed on this face in a script font, everything else sitting where it belongs in the border on the obverse.

No changes to the formats on offer. The bullion coin comes as a 1oz 0.999 silver (25,000 mintage) and a 1oz 0.9999 gold (2,500) variants. There are also proof commemorative versions with similar weights but with coloured highlights and these are supplied in a white coin box with a certificate of authenticity. The bullion variants ship in capsules on customized Scottsdale Mint branded skin boards of five, although dealers will sell them individually. The Gold “Nature Island” BU coins will ship in Scottsdale Mint’s Certi-Lock® packaging.

An iinteresting series that collects many places that rarely, if ever, have bullion coins issued for them, into a coherent whole. There aren’t many bullion issues done like this, so it makes a nice change from the norm. Despite there being eight coins, the low mintage means that even in their most prolific 1oz silver form, the total across the eight designs is only 200,000 coins. Still to come are issues for Anguilla, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines. This one has just appeared on APMEX who have had a head start in the US, but availability should increase worldwide over the next few days.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Scottsdale Mint, in partnership with the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (“ECCB”), is pleased to announce an historic, first-of-its-kind gold and silver bullion and commemorative coin program – the “EC8”. The EC8 program will consist of four coins minted in 2018 on behalf of each of the eight Caribbean island members that comprise the ECCB – Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.  The ECCB is the official issuer of the Eastern Caribbean Dollar – the Currency of the EC8 2018 Coin Program. These coins are legal tender in the territories of all eight members that comprise the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.

DOMINICA

Not to be confused with the far larger Dominican Republic, the Commonwealth of Dominica is an island of approximately 750² km that is part of the Windward Islands in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The island is located near Guadeloupe to the northwest and Martinique to the south-southeast.

Dominica has been nicknamed the “Nature Isle of the Caribbean” for its natural environment. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, and in fact it is still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world’s second-largest hot spring, called Boiling Lake. The island has lush mountainous rainforests (highest point is Morne Diablotins, at 1,447 m), and it is the home of many rare plants, animals, and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall occurs inland. The Sisserou parrot, also known as the imperial amazon and found only on Dominica, is the island’s national bird and featured on the national flag.

The island was originally inhabited by the Kalinago and later colonised by Europeans, predominantly by the French from the 1690s to 1763. Columbus is said to have passed the island on Sunday, 3 November 1493, and the island’s name is derived from the Latin for “Sunday”. Great Britain took possession in 1763 after the Seven Years’ War, and it gradually established English as its official language. The island republic gained independence in 1978. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island and the population was 71,293 at the 2011 census. Dominica’s economy depends on tourism and agriculture.